


E Pluribus Unum

by SkipTheSoundbites



Category: Designated Survivor (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 17:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14000916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkipTheSoundbites/pseuds/SkipTheSoundbites
Summary: Following his first speech as president, Tom tries to process the night's events and figure out where he's headed next.





	E Pluribus Unum

“God bless you and God bless these United States of America.”

As soon as he was clear, Tom rose from the desk letting out a heavy sigh as he did so. Keeping his eyes down to avoid the gaze of the White House staffers who had gathered to watch their new president’s first speech, he strode towards the private study stopping only briefly to shake Seth Wright’s hand and thank him for what must have been a frantic hour’s work.

Once he was inside the welcoming darkness of the study with the heavy door closed behind him, Tom allowed his legs to buckle as they had been threatening to do ever since he had seen the fireball rising from the Capitol. He collapsed onto the leather sofa and buried his face in his hands willing himself to shed a tear, to react like he had seen so many others doing tonight rather than continue the stoic detachment which he had been attempting to maintain after his initial reaction to the stresses of his new job had led to him throwing up within earshot of one of his new staffers.

“Hey.” Alex’s soft voice drifted across the room, “You okay?” When no answer came, she pushed the door closed with a click and walked to Tom’s side gently pulling his hands away from his face and cradling them in her own until he was ready to look at her. When he did, she was taken aback by how hollow his eyes looked, like he was lost and searching for something to grab onto to steady himself. Alex squeezed his hands tighter for a moment before letting go to sit alongside him and wrap her arm around his shoulders. They sat in silence as she searched for the right words to comfort him but before she could find them, Tom spoke.

“How many?” his voice was faint but at least he was speaking and when he shifted to make eye contact, Alex saw that his eyes no longer looked empty instead she saw despair and devastation. Clearly, Tom had found a thought to bring his focus back to the present though privately Alex worried that it would do him more harm than good if he pursued this train of thought for too long. “How many people do you think died tonight?” Tom asked again and seeing that he was determined to receive an answer, Alex glanced at the ceiling attempting to calculate the numbers. However, it soon became simply too overwhelming and all she could think about was how Tom should have been at the Capitol, was planning to be there until that phone call and how thankful she was that he was sitting alongside her now.

Giving up on arriving at an accurate figure, Alex shrugged her shoulders before replying, “The President, Vice President, Cabinet, Congress, the Supreme Court. I don’t know, six hundred? More?”

“More.” Tom answered, “You’re forgetting staff, guests, broadcasters. It’s got to be a thousand at least and I’m what’s left.” His voice caught on the last word and the tears which he had earlier been willing to appear began to fall.

“You’re what’s left.” Alex agreed, pulling him closer to her and placing a gentle kiss on his temple. She knew that Tom did not have an easy road ahead of him, none of them did, but at least they were here and they could begin to rebuild their lives. Searching for a topic to distract Tom from the incomprehensible casualty count, Alex looked around the room properly for the first time but everything in this room was a reminder of President Richmond and therefore of the loss the country had suffered tonight. In that moment, she realised what needed to be done and allowed herself a small smile, “So make it count.”

Tom roughly wiped a hand across his eyes and stared at her, “Make it count.” he repeated incredulously. “How the hell am I meant to do that? I’m a president without a government. What can I do?”

“You can rebuild. Rebuild the Capitol and rebuild the government,” she replied finally removing her arm from his shoulders and turning to hold both his hands in hers once again. “You told me you didn’t want to be one of those guys. Well you don’t have to be and neither does the rest of your Cabinet. You can chose people you trust, people you believe in, make the White House everything you wanted it to be.”

Tom chuckled softly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “It’s an idea, but I don’t get to decide everything. The Senate, Congress, they’re out of my hands.”

Just as she had earlier that evening, when she and Seth had been helping Tom to find his presidential voice, Alex rolled her eyes at her husband’s inability to recognise his own potential. “Not entirely, in the next few days everyone’s going to be looking to you for where we’re headed next. Set an example that the country can believe in and they’ll follow their president’s lead. You’ve got the chance to build a better America so make it count.”

As Alex spoke, Tom’s smile broadened a little though it was still tinged with disbelief. “Set an example to the country. That’s a pretty big ask, Alex.” He let go of her hands and rose from the sofa, making his way towards the desk and ran the fabric of the small flag which sat atop its polished surface through his fingers.

“No it’s not. Not really.” Alex responded, laughing softly at Tom’s clearly unconvinced expression as he turned to lean against the desk, arms folded and eyebrows raised. “Just be yourself,” she clarified, “you’re a good man and America needs that more than anything right now.” She wasn’t sure that her words had had the desired effect. Though, in all likelihood, there was nothing she could say right now that would make Tom believe in his potential to be a good president with the same confidence that she did.

Pushing herself up, Alex joined Tom at the desk and took his hand in hers. She gently pulled him upright and led him to the room’s other door, avoiding the Oval Office and the people who would inevitably still be milling around in there attempting to process the night’s events in their own way and who would welcome the chance to do so alongside the president. “Come on,” she said, dropping Tom’s hand and wrapping her arm around his waist instead, “you need to get some rest. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”


End file.
